The Ministry of Health this morning (Monday) published new guidelines for performing antigen tests, following the harsh public criticism that home tests are unreliable, which will lead to mass infection with the introduction of the new test outline.
According to the new guidelines of the Ministry of Health, the test must be performed three days after exposure to verification (approximately 72 hours), and care must be taken to perform the sample from the throat and then one nostril with the same stick.
Instructions for performing an antigen test, Photo: Ministry of Health
We asked the expert how it is recommended to be sampled
Recall that yesterday "Israel Today" hosted Dr. Nadav Sorek and answered questions about the home test. Among other things, he referred to the accuracy rate of the antigen compared to PCR. "There are many data on the sensitivity of antigen tests, some describe sensitivity of 90% Relative to PCR tests, some are much less so.
"Apparently, in everyday life, antigen tests are around 80% more sensitive than PCR tests," said Dr. Soreq.
He added: "Repeated samples are likely to detect a patient because at some point the viral load will be high enough to be detected by the antigen test. Therefore, even if you get a negative response to the antigen, there is value in performing another antigen test after 24 hours."
Asked if a sample from the pharynx would increase the body's ability to detect the virus, he replied: "The purpose of the sample is to collect as much relevant biological material as possible. Because the virus is in the airways, we sample more samples and thus increase our chances of The virus. "
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